The Good: Hudson combines plus stuff with well above-average command. His 92-94 mph fastball can touch 96 and features good tailing action, and he throws strikes to both sides of the plate with it. His best secondary offering is a plus changeup that is a true swing-and-miss pitch, which lessens the concerns about his slingy, low three-quarters arm action. The Bad: Hudson’s slider flashed average, but it is inconsistent. He’ll need to establish it more as a starter in the big leagues. He tends to work up in the zone and gives up fly balls. Despite the enormous leap forward, many scouts think he’s maxed out projection-wise. Perfect World Projection: Even with Hudson’s tremendous growth in 2009, some scouts don’t see room for much more, seeing him as a good third starter at best. Others think he’d be even better as a late-inning reliever.

UPDATE: Here’s Goldstein chat. He believes in the improvement of Tyler Flowers’ defense at catcher.

prior to his oblique injury he tore up AA in the summer. not so afterwards

do you think it was more the oblique or a AA flameout?

thanks john

A: danks

I liked his athleticism a lot….fast, looks wiry strong. His swing looked slow and long in the two games I saw him play, and he was having trouble with pitches inside, which may have been an issue in Double-A. Scouts were mixed about him, some like him a lot, others think he’ll continue to struggle against better pitching.

”We’ve done our groundwork awhile ago,” Williams said. ”We’re going to look at our outfield. We have one spot left in our outfield. Fortunately, we can look at either corner spot or center field.”

According to Williams, if he doesn’t like what he hears on the outfield front, ”we’re certainly not under any dire pressure.”

That’s because Williams has watched Jordan Danks put on a show in the Arizona Fall League after a solid minor-league season. Sox pitcher John Danks’ younger brother also can lead off and play multiple outfield spots. …

[Sox GM Kenny] Williams said the trade for Teahen from the Royals for second baseman Chris Getz and infielder Josh Fields, which was reported Thursday, needed approval from the commissioner’s office before an announcement could be made. The Sox also received a reported $1 million from the Royals.

Gonzales, also, says with Dye’s buyout the Sox are expected to look for another outfielder while keeping an eye an their own outfield prospect, Jordan Danks, in the Arizona Fall League.